Sources: Hathaway's successor helped bring Drummond to UConn

Neill Ostrout, Connecticut Post

Neill Ostrout, Staff Writer

Updated 10:33 pm, Saturday, August 27, 2011

Andre Drummond (right) defends for St. Thomas More at the Primetime Shootout, February 13, 2011. Drummond, a highly sought 6-foot-7 center from Middletown, CT, announced he will attend Wilbraham & Monson prep school in Massachusetts on August 10, 2011.

Andre Drummond (right) defends for St. Thomas More at the Primetime...

Standout center Andre Drummond's announcement Friday that he would be at UConn this fall seemed to come as a surprise to everyone in the basketball world, but in reality, UConn officials have been discussing for weeks the possibility of enrolling the Middletown native in school and adding him to the roster on short notice, according to multiple sources.

In fact, the school's recent change in athletic directors may have drastically changed the odds of Drummond getting to Storrs immediately. Jeff Hathaway, UConn's athletic director until his forced retirement Aug. 19, apparently had major reservations about the changes that would need to be made in order for the Huskies to welcome Drummond right away.

UConn has already reached its allotment of 10 scholarships -- which is three less than the NCAA's limit because of penalties the school is facing for recruiting violations and academic performance -- for the upcoming season. One of the Huskies' current scholarship players will likely be forced to relinquish said scholarship and become a walk-on. Some financial aid, grants and other avenues may then open up for that player, much like former UConn forward Stanley Robinson experienced when he spent one semester as a walk-on with the Huskies following his hiatus from the team and the school.

Paul Pendergast, who was named interim athletic director last Sunday, has much more of a cordial relationship with UConn basketball coach Jim Calhoun than his predecessor and, according to sources, agreed to help arrangements be made to help Drummond enroll.

Pendergast doesn't officially take office until Sept. 15, and senior associate director of athletics Paul McCarthy is technically in charge of the department at this time. But Pendergast has already become deeply involved in some issues already, many sources said, including this one.

The UConn coaching staff, believing it might have an opening for Drummond, apparently contacted those close to the player. Although it wasn't quite a done deal, apparently Drummond was extremely excited about the news and decided to make a somewhat formal announcement.

Drummond, a 6-foot-11 star ranked as the best or at minimum second-best high school player in the nation, let the world know via Twitter Friday that he was joining the Huskies.

"Husky fam welcome me cause I'm coming this year!!" Drummond tweeted, following that up with: "It's official I'm heading to the university of connecticut to be a husky this year!" That came as something of a shock to those expecting him to enroll at Wilbraham & Monson (Mass.) Academy soon. Drummond was expected to spend a post-graduate season at the school after graduating from St. Thomas More in the spring.

Perhaps, however, there was a sign that Drummond was rethinking his decision to spend the year in western Massachusetts.

Drummond's good friend and AAU teammate, Kris Dunn, a talented point guard from New London, announced earlier this week that he would not be attending Wilbraham & Monson and instead would be returning to New London High School. Dunn also committed to Providence and first-year coach Ed Cooley last week.

Did Dunn's decision not to attend the prep school change Drummond's mind?

Perhaps, but it's more likely that Drummond informed Dunn of his plans to attend UConn this year and Dunn decided to stay closer to home for the upcoming year since his friend wouldn't be following him to Wilbraham.

UConn coaches had long hoped Drummond, whom they had their eyes on for perhaps four years, would join the team in 2011.

But when the Huskies offered their "last" scholarship to DeAndre Daniels in June, it appears they had resigned themselves to the fact that Drummond would wait until 2012 or perhaps skip college altogether.

Drummond's high school transcript has likely been expedited to UConn's admission department. All indications are that he will have no trouble meeting the school's admission's standards, though the financial paperwork could delay Drummond's arrival on campus slightly.

Classes begin at UConn on Tuesday and it's possible Drummond arrives on campus by that time.